The 4 Types Of People Of Palm Sunday
John 12:9
(9) When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
Mark 11:1-10 ESV
(1) When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
(2) and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
(3) If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"
(4) And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
(5) And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"
(6) And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
(7) And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
(8) And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
(9) And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
(10) Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"
Luke 19:39-40 ESV
(39) And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."
(40) He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."
John 12:20-21 ESV
(20) Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
(21) So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."]
What we're going to do is to look at some of the people who were involved in what we call Palm Sunday. You've heard the Bible reading today, and perhaps many of you are familiar with the story. But I wonder if you've ever thought about who the people were that were there that day. We’ll see together that there were 3 types of people that day – Worshippers, Onlookers, and Outsiders. I don't want us, however, just to stop at thinking about them 'in the past'. What I hope we'll also be able to do is relate them to us today in our every day life, no matter who we are - and the life of those around us. (Let's pray as we begin this journey).
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Well the first group of people I see in this story today is those who I'm going to call 'Worshippers'. I think it might be helpful to give you a bit of context about what was happening at this time to help you see these people as they were & relate them to you today.
In today's passage you might have caught a reference to 'worshipping at the feast'. Let's talk about this feast - also called 'The Passover'. This was a celebration that had existed amongst the Jews for over 1,400 years. It was one of 3 major festivals held every year. It was HUGE.
It was kept in remembrance of the Lord's passing over the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:13) when the first born of all the Egyptians were destroyed, so that all of God's people were saved. One author says it was 'a way of uniting the nation to God on the ground of God's grace to them'.
The festival was especially celebrated in Jerusalem where today’s Bible reading occurred. Everyone in the city took in visitors to their houses, while those who couldn't fit camped outside in tents. At one time the number of people celebrating this in Jerusalem numbered 2,700,000. Try and picture that in your mind. That is the numbers we're talking about here.
All of these people had come to celebrate. One of the ways they celebrated was with a greeting to one another as they headed towards Jerusalem. It's the one we read of here.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!". These are lines from one of the Psalms of Ascents (Ps 118:25-26) sung as a welcome to pilgrims coming up to Jerusalem. As such, this is an entirely appropriate thing to do as Jesus is coming up to Jerusalem.
But there is more involved here. The cry of Hosanna! is a word that had become a greeting or shout of praise and actually meant "Save!" or "Help!". Forms of this word were used to address the king with a need. Furthermore, the palm branches the people carried were symbolic of a victorious ruler. The people were welcoming a King.
But Jesus took this even further. When He came into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was making a bold statement. (In arriving on a donkey) Jesus was deliberately fulfilling a prophecy made earlier in the Bible - Zechariah chapter 9:9:
(9) Everyone in Jerusalem, celebrate and shout! Your king has won a victory, and he is coming to you. He is humble and rides on a donkey; he comes on the colt of a donkey.
Jesus was deliberately and provocatively claiming to be a king - His action was like a living parable, acted out to disclose his true identity.
It's no wonder that the people got excited - and that 'even the rocks would have cried out'.
It's interesting for me, though, to note that none of this would have been possible if it weren't for 2 specific worshippers. They're the 2 disciples who we read about in this story who Jesus sent to find the donkey.
“And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it”
Imagine being them?!? As calm as anything, Jesus says you should go and find a donkey, tell its owners that you need it, and then walk off with it!!! And yet we read that they did just that - taking their part in enabling God's work to be done that day in glorifying Jesus.
Now here's where it comes down to you and me. Here's a question for you:
When was the last time you did something Jesus asked you to? What could that look like - what might it result in?
Let me tell you one story that I think illustrates this. It's sort of about Tom. As Tom grew up, he had parents who were sort of religious and so like many people he went to church sometimes. He attended youth group but never really had an interest in Christianity and so never took it seriously, eventually fading away from anything church-like.
Tom married Thora and they had 2 sons. One of their sons remembers going to the pub most Friday nights and calling in 'Dad - it's time to come home for tea'. Really Tom was pretty much just like most of his contemporaries - a tough Aussie who drank more than enough, gambled, smoked for a while, love his footy, but didn't really show much emotion or interest in anything religious. Interestingly Tom's wife Thora went to church and took the kids there who went on to accept Jesus - but Tom wasn't interested.
Tom had reached the age of 87 when he was suddenly hospitalised and became seriously ill. It was pretty clear his life was coming to an end. That's when God decided Tom needed one more chance. Through Tom's family, God encouraged a godly lady from this very church to go and visit Tom and talk to him. This lady boldly sat down next to Tom and asked him if he had ever heard about Jesus. She shared with him about how Jesus had died for Tom, and asked Tom if he would accept Jesus. That's when this tough Aussie realised it was time to give his life to Jesus. Together they prayed a prayer and then the most amazing thing happened. This lady from Clovercrest asked tough Tom if they could sing a song together: Jesus Loves Me. And they did. The memories of all God had spoken to Tom all those years ago came back. I know this story is true because Tom was my grandpa - and I'm looking forward to worshipping God in Heaven with him one day.
I believe that lady was just like those disciples back before Palm Sunday. Her actions in response to God's words led to worshipping God. She was just one Christian like you and me - I wonder if God might speak to you like her today?
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Onlookers
In the beginning of our reading today, there was an interesting phrase – I wonder if you picked it up. “They came, not only on account of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus”. It tells us about the next group of people I see in the story today – “Onlookers”.
You see, many of the people who were present on Palm Sunday weren’t necessarily there to worship Jesus. They were there to have a sticky-beak and see Lazarus. For those of you who may not be familiar with the story, Lazarus was a man who the Bible records Jesus raised from the dead. Oddly enough, Lazarus isn’t even mentioned in this story – but so famous was his story that even the mention of his miraculous raising still brought a crowd around.
At the end of our account today we also have a story about some ‘Greeks’ who had been among the onlookers. Up until that time in history, however, the Greeks hadn’t been a part of God’s family. But these Greek onlookers became so excited about what they saw in Jesus that they too said ‘We want to see Jesus’. They also were ‘onlookers’.
There were other onlookers here too – people who’d come for the feast, many of whom may have come because it was ‘what they always did’. Some who had come for the Passover but then saw a crowd & followed them to see what all the fuss was about – like when a noisy busker appears in Rundle Mall!
It would surprise me incredibly today if there weren’t people here who would consider yourself an ‘onlooker’ at church. I want to tell you that that’s perfectly fine. We’re glad to have you here. Jesus made it abundantly clear over the whole of His life that nobody was expected to be perfect in order to come and see what He was about.
On this day when people waved Palm branches & cried out, I believe Jesus knew just why people were doing it – and that didn’t concern Him. Infact at different times throughout His life He made time specifically for people who had questions about Him – much to the surprise of His followers.
So if you’ve come here today and you’re exploring – or ‘onlooking’ Jesus, that’s great. You’re joining a whole host of people over the course of history who have done the same. What I would like to do is take a minute to explain some of why it is that I’d call myself a ‘worshipper’ and not just an ‘onlooker’. Why it is that you might have felt a ‘buzz’ here today that I think is like the buzz of excitement people felt on the first Palm Sunday.
I want to put it in the terms of what the Bible tells us Jesus made possible when He came to earth. Here’s just a few of the promises that He fulfilled:
In one part of the Bible, Jesus said that He “came that everyone may have life, and life to its fullest”. He always has had an incredible plan not to lock us up in religion but to free us up!
How does Jesus do this? He does this by removing anything that could block us from relationship with God. The Bible tells us that “There is no condemnation for those in Jesus”. That is the most freeing thing that I could imagine – not being condemned. At all. That is what we celebrate in Jesus.
Building on this, one final promise that we celebrate in Jesus is that this relationship is far more than anything we deserve – or would ever expect. God – the creator of the world is all-powerful, and yet Jesus’ coming made it possible for us to be God’s children. It’s this simple: “You are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus”. That is something worth worshipping God for.
This is why we follow and worship Jesus. If you’re here today to see what Jesus is about, I hope you’ve been able to see something like the people of Palm Sunday saw that led them to worship Jesus.
Over the last few years I've aimed to come in contact with all sorts of potential onlookers. There's been all sorts of ways I've done that - going to festivals, eating together, praying - and one other way is doorknocking. Doorknocking can get a bit of a bad rap - but our purpose wasn't to force anything on people, rather to see if they were potential 'onlookers'. We wanted to interact with people who might be interested in ‘onlooking’ to Jesus, but who – for many reasons – might not walk into a church. And I have to be honest with you – there were lots of them!
I know there’s people out there exploring Jesus, just as there was at Palm Sunday. I hope we can meet them and give them that chance – no matter where they may be.
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'Outsiders'
There’s a third group of people I see there on Palm Sunday and that I know are in our lives today. They’re people I call ‘Outsiders’. Now the main difference I see about them is that they have chosen not to even explore God in a meaningful way, but have made choices to ignore what He has to say. They may even be aggressive against the message of God, or living a life that would seem to make it difficult for them to hear that message.
In today’s passage, these people were called ‘Pharisees’. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time spent a lot of time arguing against what Jesus’ message was – and in the long run it was them who convinced the rulers to kill Jesus on a cross. On Palm Sunday there they were, demanding that Jesus rebuke his followers – they did not want Jesus to be given the incredible honour He was being given. Jesus’ response to them tells us how He sees those in this world today who also attempt to take away His glory by choosing to live outside His love.
“He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."”
Let me put this another way. No matter what obstacles people may put in the way of finding Jesus, His glory will shine through. No matter what reasons you may have for avoiding Jesus, or the reasons of people around you, Jesus’ love will shine through. Even the Pharisees – who some would call Jesus’ enemies – saw God’s glory that day.
Here's a story from another of Clovercrest's members on how God is still speaking to outsiders today - just as He did at Palm Sunday.
I was on an outreach last year doing a special visit to those who are being exploited in brothels. We visited four brothels that night and brought gifts to the women, had a chat and offered prayer and follow up support.
We came to bring them a body lotion and a special Fathers Love Letter, which is a page of scriptures put together in the form of a letter to them, from their Almighty Father. We had this letter ready in Thai, Chinese, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese and more so that each woman could receive this special gift in their own language.
As we headed to the door of the brothel, we noticed a middle aged Asian man pacing the driveway. He could be a manager, pimp or someone who might tell us to leave so we hardly acknowledged the man as we were focused on getting to the door. When we had pressed the door bell, knocked and waited for a while, there was no answer.
We strongly felt to leave gifts at the door and go. On the way out my heart went out to this man. I asked him what country he was from and then I started speaking to him in his Asian language. We connected through language then he was open to hearing what I had to say. I said, "We are Christians and we have come here to tell the girls that God loves them and that we care about them. God loves you too and he wants you to know that."
This man then put his hand on his chest and said, "Stop I'm going to cry" We started to have a talk about Jesus. We spoke about how he can talk to God his Father and how to invite Him into his life. The man was touched and could hardly talk as he was choked back tears. He told us that he couldn't believe that God would send someone to meet him in such a shameful place.
This story was from Sharon, one of the missionaries Clovercrest supports - she works with a ministry called Rahab. As I shared last week, as a church body here there is a very real sense in which we all are involved in supporting ministry to those who are ‘outsiders’. I want to encourage you to continue to support the missionaries we support.
Another reason I love this story is because it shows me that when God works in someone's life, all we have to do is follow with what He is doing. God showed up at Palm Sunday, just as He showed up that day. And an ordinary every day Christian was ready and played her part in what God was doing - resulting in an opportunity for an 'outsider' to become a worshipper.
I wonder too if there is someone in your life who you might consider an ‘outsider’ – either by their own choice or by the way the world sees them. People of other faiths; Those in vulnerable circumstances; People who openly reject church & everything it represents. No matter what it is that makes them an ‘outsider’, just as Jesus spoke into people’s lives at Palm Sunday, He can do it today.
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Those Who Weren't Invited
As the worship team comes up to lead us in closing today, I do want us to think about one other group of people that came to mind as I considered Palm Sunday. But this group of people weren’t in the story. Why? Because they were the people who weren’t invited. To consider them, listen to this modern day parable and ask yourself what it means to you…
The whole town was talking about 'That party'. The party that the King had thrown when he came. All that was known from those who'd been there was that there hadn't been one like it ever before - the location just perfect, the food exquisite, the service excelling anything ever seen before.
This is what Burt's friends were talking about as they gathered together for their weekly catch-up. They dreamed together what it would have been like to be there. As they talked though, Burt was silent until he burst out.
"I was there". He said.
They looked at him in amazement. He didn't seem like the sort of person who would have been invited - they thought he was just like them. They didn't know what to say - they were gob-smacked. But it was what he said next that completely threw them.
"I could have invited you guys you know, but...well, I didn't".
He turned to Nick and said "You're always talking about how you've gone off the monarchy - I thought you'd be put off by me even asking".
To Harry he said "I now how busy you are - I didn't think you'd have time to come".
To Fred he said "I didn't really think we knew each other well enough for me to ask you".
"I guess I'm saying I just didn't know how to bring it up. And now it's too late".
Burt's friends all began to speak at once. Astounded, they all wanted to get their opinion known - and at the same time to ask him what the party was like. Burt, clearly distressed, had one more shock announcement for them though. This one left them speechless.
"When my father said he was throwing a party, I guess I just didn't think of inviting you".
Tears in his eyes he walked away realising he had not given his friends the chance of a lifetime - and now it was too late. And his friends, instead of seeing him as a child of the King, remembered him as the one who hadn't invited them.
